


New Horizons

by timehasa_way



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Animal Crossing References, Based on a video game, Crack, Established Relationship, Humor, M/M, Pandemics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:14:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28835439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timehasa_way/pseuds/timehasa_way
Summary: Like inthisvideo, Jared buys Jensen video games during quarantine. Jensen doesn't understand the draw of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, until he does.
Relationships: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Comments: 8
Kudos: 21





	New Horizons

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when you and your friend start playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons during COVID quarantine, and then you start talking about what would happen if J2 played it during COVID quarantine. I fully owe Windstorms for most of the ideas behind this fic, and the ice cream line that I HAD to use. We also got together in game to take these pics, which was so much fun and made me so stupidly happy. This is really just me entertaining myself, but hopefully somebody else enjoys it. XD

It isn’t too surprising when a package arrives at Jensen’s home, considering he’s been getting most things delivered during quarantine. But this time, it’s a package he wasn’t expecting. He opens it up, wondering what it could be. When he sees the item inside, he grins and thinks how some things never change. It was only during the first few episodes of Supernatural that Jared went and bought him a PSP so they could play together. Now, fifteen years later, Jared’s bought him a Nintendo Switch, along with a game that kind of makes Jensen roll his eyes. He calls Jared immediately.

“ _Animal Crossing?_ ” he says as soon as Jared picks up. Neither of them really need greetings anymore. 

“Just shut up and play it,” Jared answers, and Jensen’s sure that the music he can hear in the background is from the game itself. “You can come visit my island.”

“Whatever.”

The thing is, Jared does have a history of being right about these things. In all these years, all the times he’s bought something for Jensen because he thinks it will be fun for both of them, it’s turned out to be true. So, Jensen gets his Switch set up and starts the game. 

He doesn’t get it at first and complains to Jared about Tom Nook being a swindling asshole, but Jared convinces him to stick with it. Eventually, Jared comes to visit Jensen’s new island to drop some things off and help him out, the two of them on speakerphone as they play.

“What are you _wearing?_ ” Jensen asks, and for once, it’s not a question he asks over the phone in a sexy way. He’s staring at Jared’s character in the game, decked out in some shirt that has a cat on it with lasers shooting out of its eyes. 

“I brought you one, too,” Jared says, and Jensen watches as Jared’s character assumes a thinking pose and a shirt drops to the ground.

“Did you just shit out a shirt?”

“I _told_ you I was bringing you some stuff!” 

Jared’s character keeps thinking and dropping stuff, and Jensen feels his playful streak kick in. He selects his axe, one of the few tools he’s got in his pockets, and starts swinging it at Jared, running around him in circles and giggling.

“Dude, stop trying to murder me!” Jensen keeps going, and Jared laughs. “What a way to treat a guest! And I came bearing gifts!” 

“That’s not enough,” Jensen says, switching to his shovel and digging a hole next to Jared to signify a grave. “I assume you made me the beneficiary of your Animal Crossing life insurance?”

“You’re a _villain._ ”

“Or a genius.” He pauses only slightly before Jared speaks with him in unison. “Or both.”

Before Jensen knows it, he’s hooked on this _stupid_ game, and he and Jared play together regularly. It takes a while for Jensen to get a bit more adept at the chat feature, but he starts using it off and on, even when they’re both already speaking to each other on the phone, just for fun. Jared gasps when Jensen shows up on his island, drops a couple of different colored floor lights, and the text “I’d like one blowjob, please” pops up over his head.

“ _Jensen!_ Not in front of Biskit!” Biskit, Jared’s villager, walks by side-eyeing them, _as if he knows._

“Please,” Jensen says, waving Jared off, even though Jared can’t see him. “Biskit’s not as innocent as he looks. It’s all a show. That kinky bastard has a sex dungeon in his basement.”

Jared snorts. “You think you know a guy…”

“Yeah. Pretty sure Hans visits there frequently.”

“Now you’re bringing Hans into this??” 

“Sure.” Jensen shrugs, smiling. He enjoys this time with Jared to just improvise and be ridiculous, not thinking about anything else going on in the world. “You know, Hans also puts on this front of being this macho dude, lifting and all that nonsense, but that’s a bottom if I’ve ever seen one.”

“That explains why I identify with Hans,” Jared says suggestively, and Jensen laughs. 

“Touche.”

“What other dark secrets do you see in the villagers?”

Jensen thinks. “Pretty sure Gala acts like this sweet, adorable little pig, but she’s super into pegging.”

Jared breaks out laughing, and Jensen laughs with him, feeling lighter than he has in a while through this lockdown. “Man, if only other people knew what went on in your brain.”

“It’s a weird place.”

“I should also point out,” Jared says in a sobering tone, “That Gala can absolutely be sweet and adorable and still enjoy pegging. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“This is true,” Jensen agrees, nodding. “Nothin’ wrong with any of it, they can all enjoy whatever they enjoy.”

The first time Jensen buys turnips and has to find decent turnip prices, he panics a little. 

“I can’t exactly just DM random people on Twitter and ask to come to their island,” he says as Jared talks him through it. “I mean, I’m… Not that I’m not a normal person, but I can’t just _do_ that. Although, it would be funny…” He doesn’t like to think of himself as a _celebrity,_ but he can still picture someone freaking out that _Jensen Ackles_ just asked to come sell turnips on their island, and he’s _almost_ inclined to do it.

“Don’t worry, man, I got this,” Jared says. “First of all, you _could_ do that, you would just need to make another Twitter account that isn’t _you_ -you.” Jensen immediately groans, and Jared laughs. “But since you’re an old man about it, I already have a friend who’s been playing a while and has good turnip prices. I’ll get you in there.”

“Oh, thank God,” Jensen sighs in relief.

“Remember when you said I was ridiculous for buying you this game?”

“Shut up.”

On Halloween, Jared laughs at Jensen as he goes around scaring his villagers and snickering. “You sadistic fuck,” Jared jokes, and Jensen just puts on Jack’s outfit and goes around scaring them some more. 

It’s after Jensen gets more into the game that his character starts to reflect him a little more. Jared realizes it when Jensen shows up at his island one day in basically a full suit and tie, just missing the jacket, and he snorts. “Jesus, Jen, you gotta be fashion-conscious even in a video game?”

“My villagers think I’m classy,” Jensen responds, sounding proud. “I _own_ that island. Fuck Tom Nook.” He changes the subject to what he came to Jared’s island for. “How do you have Daisy Mae here today, anyway?” he asks, and of course Jensen remembers the name. 

“You’re so formal,” Jared comments before answering, “I used time travel.”

There’s a beat of silence before Jensen responds. “You _what?”_ Jared just laughs, picturing Jensen’s arms in the air, incredulous. “What else don’t I know about this game??”

“Relax,” Jared says, rolling his eyes. “It’s not actual time travel in the game. You can change the date on your Switch before you go into the game, and it’ll load on that date.”

“Oh, so you’re cheating.” Jensen says it like it’s a fact, and Jared immediately feels defensive.

“It’s not _cheating,_ it’s… Making sure you get everything you need.”

“Yeah, by cheating.”

Jared sighs, his grip on the controller a little tighter. “Are you saying you don’t want to buy any turnips, so you can turn them over for the profit I found? Is this too underhanded for you, Officer Ackles?”

“Wow, touchy.”

“I mean, I’m trying to help you out.”

“God, we’re bickering like an old married couple.” That makes Jared smile again. “I didn’t say anything about not buying turnips. I’m buying the turnips. I’m just saying you’re cheating.”

“ _You’re_ cheating,” Jared counters, because after all, Jensen’s the one here to buy turnips. 

“Bitch.”

“Jerk.”

While the game might make their bickering a more regular occurrence, they can’t seem to stop, and it becomes a ritual of sorts for them to play together. Jared finds it a nice way to “see” Jensen over the holidays. Once snow hits their islands, it becomes a competition between them for who can create the most perfect snowboys. It’s a skill that Jared perfects a bit quicker than Jensen, who curses every time the snowboy tells him he was _so close,_ and then gives him shit about imperfections every time he talks to it. 

“I keep telling you, when you make the head, you have to check to make sure it comes to halfway up your ear,” Jared reminds him for the thousandth time. He knows he’s already said it more than enough, and it will annoy Jensen just to hear it again, but that’s partly why he says it. 

“I _did_ that!” Jensen rages, and Jared smirks, picturing Jensen ready to throw his controller. “I don’t know how it could _possibly_ be off!” 

“You want me to come make your next one for you?”

“Shut up.”

But damn, if Jensen doesn’t decorate his island perfectly for Christmas. As much as Jared’s the one who got Jensen into this game, Jensen’s taken it and run with it. Jared had fun with it, sure, and he’s excited to get new DIYs and make what of the seasonal items he can. But Jensen is meticulous, his island split out into specific sections, his Christmas trees, illuminated snowflakes, and ice sculptures perfectly spaced out. Beyond that, the usual trees and flowers are planted so strategically, Jared almost wonders how Jensen has time for all of this. Then again, it reminds him of Jensen’s perfectly packed suitcases, his neatly coiffed hair, and, of course, his wardrobe. 

“Wow,” Jared says the first time he sees the island all decked out for the holidays. “You must be really excited for Toy Day.”

“What the fuck is Toy Day?” Jensen asks, and Jared smiles and shakes his head. Old man Ackles, at it again.

“It’s their Christmas. You give your villagers presents.”

“Oh.” Jensen’s tone brightens, and Jared loves how attached Jensen’s become to his little island. “How do I know what they all want?” 

“You’re so cute.” Jared can’t help saying it, because Jensen _is_ , and Jensen groans. “You don’t have to worry about that, you’ll give them gifts from Jingle’s magic bag.”

“Who the fuck is Jingle?” 

Jared sighs.

But it might be the villager hunts that are the most challenging for Jensen, and Jared would be lying if he said he wasn’t endlessly amused by Jensen’s frustration. It becomes the new thing they get competitive over, the two of them racing to get the best villagers first, as if there aren’t enough to go around in a virtual world. 

“Someone’s at my campsite today,” Jensen announces when they’re on the phone again, and Jared tenses a little, ready for the challenge, wondering if Jensen’s going to beat him to the punch this time. 

“Who is it?”

“What am I, psychic?” Jensen huffs, and Jared can hear Isabelle finishing up her announcements on Jensen’s end of the call. “I’m heading there now to find out.” While he’s waiting to hear more, Jared stocks up on Nook Miles Tickets and prepares to go island-hopping for his next villager, one of his houses currently empty after kicking someone out the day before. “It’s Raymond.”

Jared pauses, mouth open a little. He doesn’t want to give anything away, but he doesn’t know what to say, pulse pounding.

“Is that good?”

It’s an innocent question, because Jensen still gets most of his information about the game from Jared, but Jared grips his controller tighter in annoyance, nostrils flaring as he remains quiet.

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Jared can hear Jensen’s smug little smile in his voice and rolls his eyes. “What tier is he?”

Jared grumbles to himself before answering, “He’s S-Tier.”

“Is that good?”

“This is bullshit,” is the only response Jared can muster, and Jensen laughs loudly into the phone, rubbing it in. “You barely even keep up with what’s going on in this game, and you get _Raymond_ at your campsite first.”

Jensen continues laughing, and Jared shakes his head in frustration as he listens to Jensen talking to Raymond in the game. But Jared’s mood changes as he continues listening, and he hears Jensen repeating the same conversations over and over, a smile slowly spreading over his face.

There’s silence for a moment before Jensen finally speaks up with, “How many times do I have to do this?” It’s Jared’s turn to laugh obnoxiously into the phone, and he just _knows_ Jensen is bristling on the other end. “No, seriously, how many times do I have to do this? _Shit_ , I lost the game!” Jared laughs harder, and Jensen groans angrily. “This isn’t funny!”

“You gotta have patience,” Jared chides, leaving one island to come back and fly to another.

“Oh!” Jensen exclaims, and Jared freezes. “He’s going to Resident Services!” He starts his self-satisfied laugh again, but it abruptly stops. “He wants to kick out Marshal?”

“That’s how it works,” Jared says, all too quick to answer and happy for this snag. “You have to keep playing until they choose to kick someone out that you actually want to get rid of.”

Jensen hesitates. “Do they pick a different person every time?”

“Nope,” Jared answers, practically bouncing in his seat. “Sometimes it takes _so many_ tries just to get them to stop picking the one person you want to keep most! It can take _hours_.”

“How is this fun?!” Jensen practically shouts, and Jared chuckles to himself, perking up even more when he sees who’s on the next island he visits.

“Well, well, looks like I found Sherb,” he says, delighted by the fact that he doesn’t have to play games and fight to get Sherb, just talk to him on this island. 

“What? Who’s that?” Jensen asks, sounding slightly panicked.

“He’s a goat,” Jared says, enunciating carefully as he follows up with, “S-Tier.”

Jensen snorts. “Whatever. He’s named after ice cream.”

“Sherbet isn’t ice cream,” Jared counters, and he cuts off Jensen’s argument by saying, “You just keep playing your little card games.”

Jensen doesn’t talk about villager hunting anymore, and he didn’t have the patience to try to get Raymond using the campsite method. He’s generally more subdued on their calls, and Jared doesn’t pry. He figures maybe Jensen actually gave up this competition. 

But the following week, Jensen invites Jared over to his island, and when Jared arrives, Jensen leads him to a new house. 

“I didn’t know you got a new villager,” Jared says, his tone slightly accusatory.

“Yeah, why don’t you go in and say hi,” Jensen suggests, and Jared just knows he isn’t going to like this. 

Jared opens the door to the house and sees…

“I got Ankha,” Jensen says, after the silence lasts too long.

Jared throws his controller and ends the call.


End file.
